The Roses of November

Though not usually expected in New Jersey, it comes to pass that November has thus far been very rainy and very mild. Combine rain with warmer than usual weather and you get roses! We have more roses than seems fair for so late in the year. In bloom are Double Delight (the tree facing south), Fisherman's Friend, Gertrude Jekyll, Heritage (in a mini flush), the Mini Roses, Pat Austin, Peace (the new tree has done exceptionally well), Queen Elizabeth, Red Ribbons, and Sunbright. Shown below is an enormous peace blossom just beginning to fully open. Also in the garden, the English Hollies in the Side-Yard Garden have a bumper crop of red berries. Given the association of holly with red berries and Christmas, it makes for an interesting juxtaposition since there are a whole bunch of roses only steps away.

2 Responses to The Roses of November

I was just curious how long you've been working with roses? I just began working with them this year and it's been extremely addictive! I started out with a Queen Elizabeth and a knockout rose. Both did extremely well. My boss had three climbing roses, which she wasn't able to spray–they were near her herb garden, so I transplanted them a few weeks ago. One had to be pruned rather severely, so I'm praying it makes it. What type of products do you use and as far as winter care, what do you do? Thanks, Alison PS-I'm the rose finatic in my family and my husband's the train finatic if you believe that!

I put in my first roses the spring after the house was built, so it's going on fourteen years now. I've discussed how I control fungus earlier in the blog. For wintertime, after they go dormant (which may be never if the weather keeps up as it's been lately) I prune off very long, thin canes that might be whipped about by winter winds. I also strip off all of the dead leaves, hips, etc. And that's just about it. Unless we have a horrendous winter, most come through just fine. And yes, I can well believe that you're the rose fanatic and your husband is the train fanatic; here, I'm both! 🙂